What Drove Him to This Decision
by justsimplymeagain
Summary: Victor didn't know what drove him to follow the little Howlett boy who was his newly discovered brother, or why. Was it because they were the same? Was it because the boy needed him or was it because the boy made Victor feel normal?


Victor didn't know what drove him to do it nor did he understand it fully. Everything he ever knew was gone now, his Father was dead. And no matter how much he despised the man, the man was just that. His father. He didn't know how to handle it; it was a normalcy in his life. Having the man around, drinking and raging as he always did. It was normal.

But now, Victor was thrust out of what he considered normal by a boy he never knew was related to him. A boy who was always so sick and so needy. Six bones coming from the weak frail little boy's hands and stuck his – no their father in the stomach. Killing him. Leaving Victor as an orphan.

"_What are you…"_

That was what the mother of this frail little boy said to the boy now cradled in his arms while he slept. Victor found the sensation of having someone rely on him for comfort and warmth to be foreign, not bad exactly but very weird. Looking out of the cave they were currently tucked away in, Victor frowned. No one was chasing them now, so they were free to go where they wanted. But he didn't know where to go or what to do.

And Victor understood that it was now up to him to decide what to do from here on out, he was the elder of the two. The older brother. He was someone's brother, that too was a new sensation to Victor. And he bet that it was the same for the frail boy cradled against him. Tears still streaking the little Howlett's cheeks. _No, not Howlett. He was no Howlett._ Victor venomously thought as he stared down at the boy who was clutching at his shirt. Victor was all too sure that the boy was no Howlett, and not just because of their shared blood.

John Howlett, the master of the property was dubbed 'Soft John' for a reason. He was weak and too lenient. Victor couldn't count how many times his father ranted and raved about 'Soft John'. James, this frail little boy wasn't soft if the look he had on his face was any indication. He saw anger there, and the same kind of fiery temper his –their father had. The same Victor had.

Was that what drove him to chase after the frail boy who got a surge of energy and took off due to everything going so wrong – or right?

Victor doubted it, he didn't know why exactly. But they were brothers, no doubt about that. After all no one related to him would be weak, and this boy as frail as he is at the moment wasn't going to be weak. Victor could teach him how to be strong. How to be hard. But Victor would do it better then their father did. HE would be better then his father in a thousand different ways. Because he was better.

Shifting caught his attention; James was still asleep but found some unseemly way of practically crawling into Victor's lap for more warmth. How the boy could pull that off when he was asleep was beyond Victor. Sighing in annoyance he shifted so the boy who relied on him for warmth could be more comfortable.

"I'm a monster… I killed a man…" A soft quiet voice said, Victor heard the deep sorrow there. It caused him to frown and look down; the boy was no longer clutching at him but looking at his own hands as though he still saw the blood that Victor had to wash off. Victor felt uneasy; he wasn't any good with this sort of situation. It made him remember when he had to wash the blood off of those same hands.

"_Come on James… We got to get you cleaned up." Victor said, they were finally free from being chased but barely. He still heard barking in the distance. He got no reply, this boy who he only recently found out about his origins and who he really is, was only staring at the blood on his hands. Blood that was dried now. It would be hard to get off, Victor would know he had to wash his own blood off many times. _

_Without a word, Victor shifted from one foot to another before settling on an action of dragging the younger boy with him. Uneasily. What should he say? What should he do? In the end he settled on getting the boy to crouch near water while Victor crouched down beside him and scrubbed his hands off. He ignored the soft sniffles and the choked sobs. Victor felt queasy with his uneasiness. What should he do?_

Victor sighed; it was enough to cause his new sibling to look up at him questioningly and with an uneasy look, like he was expecting something bad. Which was new from the pampered boy who up to yesterday had a comfortable easy life, and it was mildly concerning. Did he expect bad things from Victor? Frowning slightly Victor wasn't sure how to take that.

"You ain't no monster." Victor pointed out stubbornly. There wasn't much Victor knew about things, his father didn't let him learn too many things just the common knowledge of how to work and how to hate. Victor didn't know how to read, he didn't know how to write nor did he understand most of what upstanding people knew. But Victor knew for a fact that he wasn't stupid, so Victor could learn. He knew he could.

"I killed a man…" Young James repeated, Victor could hear the depressing confidence the boy had in his own declaration. And shame. That was heard too.

"He killed your Mother's husband." Victor stated as casual as he could say, but he could see the disagreement on James's face before anything could be said. Later he was sure the boy would be more concerned with how he worded it. Victor didn't care about that, that's how it was.

"He was still a man… I… I shouldn't have. It was wrong." Young James pushed, he shifted so he was practically sitting in Victor's lap. Victor shifted uncomfortably because of it and confused by way his body nearly reacted, but barely noticeable due to other pressing matters.

"It's wrong to beat a boy, it's wrong to de-claw that boy and it's wrong to pull out teeth." Victor venomously snapped, unintentionally.

In his defense he did have a lot of anger stored away; it took away parts of his childhood and made him incapable of some things other children learn. Victor just didn't know it, nor will he understand that fact when he's fully grown in the future. But right now, he was only a boy who had to look after another boy.

Silence, Victor both despised that silence and was glad for it. Silence never helped him in these situations; mostly they just let him sit in his uneasiness. He shouldn't have said what he said.

"He really hurt you bad didn't he?" James pointed out quietly, something akin to sympathy or pity could be seen. Victor didn't know which it was but felt anger for it anyways, he shoved that down.

So that left one action to take, Victor shrugged it off.

"Why did you come with me?" James finally asked, Victor could see the sheer need to know and mild hope for something Victor couldn't be sure of.

There it was; that question. The one he thought was answered when they first went on the run together. One that led to the question of, what drove him to run off with a boy who took everything Victor knew away from him?

After all, being brothers may be a good reason but it wasn't a good enough reason because despite being what they were to each other, they hardly knew each other. Other then the times they played and the times James invited him into the house, loneliness drove them to that every time from the time they first met to now. Sure the fact that they were brothers would become a defining point for them both and a connection that holds them together and carries their paths onward. But right now, Victor couldn't see it as the reason why despite his own words.

So what other reasons could there be?

Was it because they were the same?

Was it because for the first time in his life someone _needed_ him?

Was it because of the fact that this boy, this frail sickly little boy who just recently turned out to be related to him, made Victor feel _normal_?

Or was it because of something else? After all, the times when that young girl spoke to James, hung around James. Victor felt jealous of her, hated her. She was taking his spot, or at least Victor assumed she was. Victor had to muse on that later on. Right now a question needed to be answered.

"We're brothers… _Brothers_ don't let each other be alone…" Victor stated as he pulled his brother back down from his sitting spot so he was laying down beside Victor and tucked away from the world before he continued,

"You _need_ me…"

For now that would have to do, that simple little reason had to be good enough for what drove Victor to chase after this boy who was _his_ brother.


End file.
